Banned from advertising liquor on TV, Korean alcohol companies have turned to the internet to push the hard stuff and the government wants them to tone it down.

On Friday, Lotte Liquor gave into government demands to pull a soju ad campaign on the net featuring 4 Minute’s Hyun-a, Sistar’s Hyo-rin and Kara’s Gu Ha-ra, dancing suggestively in skimpy outfits in all their barely-passed-the-drinking age glory.

In a released statement Lotte Liquors said:

“We decided to halt the ad on Friday following a recommendation by the government that it could affect young people”

Actually, while that may well be part of the reason Lotte Liquors scrapped the ad, the likely incentive was a government threat to sic the National Tax Service on them for an audit.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WcjkUr1icsE]

The videos have been pulled from the Lotte site but can be found on YouTube –should you want to see how they affect you. 건배!